Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohors: Theria
Cohors: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Cladus: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Euarchontoglires
Ordo: Rodentiaa
Subordo: Castorimorpha
Familia: Geomyidae
Genus: Cratogeomys
Species: Cratogeomys castanops
Subspecies: C. c. angusticeps – C. c. bullatus – C. c. castanops – C. c. clarkii – C. c. consitus – C. c. dalquesti – C. c. excelsus – C. c. hirtus – C. c. jucundus – C. c. parviceps – C. c. perexiguus – C. c. perplanus – C. c. pratensi – C. c. sordidulus – C. c. subsimus – C. c. surculus – C. c. tamaulipensis – C. c. ustulatus
Name
Cratogeomys castanops (Baird, 1852)
Synonyms
Pappogeomys castanops (Baird, 1852)
References
Cratogeomys castanops in Mammal Species of the World.
Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (Editors) 2005. Mammal Species of the World – A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third edition. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
IUCN: Cratogeomys castanops (Baird, 1852) (Least Concern)
Links
North American Mammals: Cratogeomys castanops [1]
Vernacular names
English: Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher
The yellow-faced pocket gopher (Cratogeomys castanops) is a species of pocket gopher that is native to shortgrass prairies in the south-western United States and northern Mexico. It is the species that lives north of the Southern Coahuila Filter-Barrier (SCFB).[2] Among the different species, the yellow-faced pocket gopher has a small to medium-sized skull.[3] The fossil of this genus was recorded from the pre-Pleistocene Benson Beds of Arizona.[4]
The yellow-faced pocket gopher has a yellowish-brown coat, a short tail, and one deep groove down the anterior middle of each incisor.
Form and function
Adults of C. castanops in Texas begin to molt in August and continue through March. The new pelage was found to be thicker, but had no change in color [5] In Kansas, semiannual molts in adults have been reported: 1. Molt from winter to summer early in the spring and 2. Molt in autumn in September and October [6]
There is sexual dimorphism in the yellow-faced pocket gophers; the males are larger than the females. The males of all genera of pocket gophers continue to grow after attaining sexual maturity, but females grow little after reaching sexual maturity.[7]
Ontogeny and reproduction
The reproductive activity of yellow-faced pocket gophers start in November and increases to a peak in March and/or April [8] During mating and copulation, the males emits low guttural squeaks throughout exploratory activities, then the male bites the female when body contact is made.[5] When young animals are old enough to leave the nest, they travel about maternal burrows. Then, when the young are nearly full grown, they disperse from the parental burrow.[9]
Behavior
Researchers have seen a swimming ability in yellow-faced pocket gophers.[10] However, this genus of pocket gophers are less durable than other genera in water, perhaps because of the greater bulk (of its body) that inhibits its endurance.
Most of the foraging is done from the burrow system the yellow-faced pocket gophers create, pulling plants into the burrow by their roots.[9] The burrow system consists of tunnels dug by the gophers averaging 75.8m in length and 10 to 132 cm in depth.[11]
Ecology
Yellow-faced pocket gophers usually inhabit deep sandy or silty soils that are relatively free from rocks.[9] However, where Geomys (another genus of pocket gophers) is present, Cratogeomys is restricted to "denser, shallower, sometimes rocket soils."[12][13] Research in Kansas showed that tracts that had no gophers occupying it consisted largely of areas with fine-textured soils that are planted with crops. The crops (corn, wheat, and grain sorghum) were harvested and disked annually along with the roadside ditches adjacent to the cropland. It was concluded that pocket gophers are not able to inhabit these lands because land-use practices have destabilized the habitats, eliminating both refuge and dispersal corridors.[14]
Yellow-faced pocket gophers are preyed on by small carnivorous mammals and large hawks and owls.[7][15]
Subspecies
There are currently 18 identified subspecies[16] of Cratogeomys castanops:
C. c. angusticeps
C. c. bullatus
C. c. castanops
C. c. clarkii
C. c. consitus
C. c. dalquesti
C. c. excelsus
C. c. hirtus
C. c. jucundus
C. c. parviceps
C. c. perexiguus
C. c. perplanus
C. c. pratensi
C. c. sordidulus
C. c. subsimus
C. c. surculus
C. c. tamaulipensis
C. c. ustulatus
References
Cassola, F. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Cratogeomys castanops". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T16025A115131062. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T16025A22216913.en. Retrieved 11 November 2022. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
Hafner, David J.; Hafner, Mark S.; Hasty, Gerald L.; Spradling, Theresa A.; Demastes, James W. (2008). "Evolutionary Relationships of Pocket Gophers (Cratogeomys castanops Species Group) of the Mexican Altiplano". Journal of Mammalogy. 89: 190–208. doi:10.1644/07-MAMM-A-001.1.
Russell, R. J. , 1968b. Revision of pocket gophers of the genus Pappogeomys. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 16:581-776
Russell, R. J., 1969. Intraspecific population structure of the species Pappogeomys castanops. Pp. 337-371, in Contributions in mammalogy (J. K. Jones, Jr., ed.). Misc. Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist., Univ. Kansas, 51:1-428
Ikenberry, R. D. 1964. Reproductive studies of the Mexican pocket gopher, Cratogeomys castanops perplanus. Unpubl. M.S. thesis, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, v + 47pp.
Birney, E. C., J.K. Jones, Jr., and D. M. Mortimer. 1971. The yellow-faced pocket gopher, Pappogeomys castanops, in Kansas. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 73:368-375
Chase, J. D., W.E. Howard, and J. T. Rosenberry. 1982. Pocket gophers, Geomyidae. Pp. 239-255, in Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and economics (J.A. Chapman and G.A. Feldhamer, eds.). Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, xiii + 1147 pp.
Smolen, M. J., J. J. Genoways, and R. J. Baker. 1980. demographic and reproductive parameters of the yellow-cheeked pocket gopher (Pappogeomys castanops). J. Mammal., 61:224-236
Bailey, V. 1932. Mammals of New Mexico. N. Amer. Fauna, 53:1-412, 22 pls.
Hickman, G. C. 1977b. Swimming behavior in representative species of the three genera of North American geomyids. Southwestern Nat., 21:531-538.
Hickman, G. C. 1977a. Burrow system structure of Pappogeomys castanops (Geomyidae) in Lubbock County, Texas. Amer. Midland Nat., 97:50-58
Birney, E. C., J.K. Jones, Jr., and D. M. Mortimer. 1971. The yellow-faced pocket gopher, Pappogeomys castanops, in Kansas. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 73:368-375
Findley, J. S. 1987. The natural history of New Mexican mammals. Univ. New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, xii + 164 ppl, 16 unnumbered pls.
Hoffman, Justin D.; Choate, Jerry R.; Channell, Rob (2007). "Effects of Land Use and Soil Texture on Distributions of Pocket Gophers in Kansas". The Southwestern Naturalist. 52 (2): 296–301. doi:10.1894/0038-4909(2007)52[296:EOLUAS]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0038-4909.
Jones, J. K., Jr., D.M. Armstrong, and J. R. Choate. 1985. Guide to mammals of the plains states. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln, xix + 371 pp.
Patton, J. L. (2005). "Family Geomyidae". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 859. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
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